Tag: trees

Ugo Rondinone at Gladstone Gallery

Lightning strikes three times in the same spot at Gladstone Gallery’s high-ceilinged 21st Street space in the form of bronze sculpture by Swiss New Yorker Ugo Rondinone.  Trees scanned, 3-D printed and cast in bronze have been inverted to resemble day glow yellow bolts of light; at the same time, they belong to the terrestrial realm by still clearly resembling trees.  As nature upends our expectations again and again through storms, floods and extreme temperatures, Rondinone questions the natural order.  (On view in Chelsea through Nov 9th.

Ugo Rondinone, installation view of ‘bright light shining’ at Gladstone Gallery, Oct ’23.

Jaime Miranda-Bambaren in Foley Square and Thomas Paine Park

Surrounded by the notable buildings of downtown Manhattan’s civic center, Jaime Miranda-Bambaren’s sculptures crafted from the roots of felled Peruvian trees add an additional historic component to the urban landscape.  Scattered around Foley Square and neighboring Thomas Paine Park and located in front of New York’s most prominent courthouses, 13 spheres sculpted from the abandoned root systems of illegally felled Peruvian trees act as witness to destruction but also offer hope.  Titled 13 Moons (Seeds), the sculptures represent the regenerative possibilities of nature.  (Join an architecture tour and see the pieces in person!  On view through June 20th in Foley Square).

Jaime Miranda-Bambaren, installation view of 13 Moons (Seeds) in April 2023 in Foley Square, Manhattan.

Cynthia Daignault at Kasmin Gallery

Visiting Gettysburg National Military Park can amount to moving from one memorial to another, but Cynthia Daignault’s new series of paintings at Kasmin Gallery, inspired by the Civil War battlefield, focus not on the built environment but the natural world.  Called ‘a rumination on the meaning of site and time’ by the gallery, Daignault’s work features ‘witness trees,’ which were alive in the 1860s and are still in place today.  Surrounded by graves, the trees operate outside of a human timeframe and offer an alternative perspective on historic events.  Painting titles include terms like ‘synecdoche’ or ‘chiaroscuro,’ suggesting that parts of an image can tell a larger story or that events exist in shades of light and dark.  Here, ‘Gettysburg (Stereoscopic)’ nods to the popular 19th century photographic technique that creates depth by presenting two near identical images side-by-side.  (On view through Jan 8th. Note holiday hours and closures.)

Cynthia Daignault, Gettysburg (Stereoscopic), oil on linen, 30 x 60 inches, 2021.

Etel Adnan at Galerie Lelong

Etel Adnan’s ‘Danse Nocturne’ is a standout in her current show of painting and tapestry at Chelsea’s Galerie Lelong, its bold lines and saturated color communicating a vibrant energy that reaches right across the gallery space.  Abstracted landscapes, starting with an image of an olive tree at the gallery’s entrance, suggest a joyful experience of nature rendered in a rich material – wool tapestry.  Adnan has explained that that an artist’s materials are like a co-author, conveying meaning in a unique way; here, tapestry mediates the work’s expressionistic immediacy and conveying a considered appreciation of natural beauty. (On view through Dec 19th.  Masks and social distancing are required).

Etel Adnan, Danse Nocturne, wool tapestry, 67.5 x 99.8 inches, 2019.

Harold Ancart at David Zwirner Gallery

Inspired by the sunlight flashing through the trees on a road trip in France, New York based Belgian painter Harold Ancart embarked on a series of paintings now attracting attention at David Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea.  This fiery abstracted mass brings to mind not just autumn foliage but a giant flaming match or burning bush.  Tranquil blue sky behind the tree sets off the intense energy of this living organism.  (On view through Oct 17th. Masks and social distancing required and appointments recommended).

Harold Ancart, Untitled, oil stick and graphite on canvas in artist’s frame, 80 1/8 x 96 1/8 inches, 2020.